Thai Lion Air’s Kolkata-Bangkok flight aborted over mid-taxi scare
Flight TLM243 aborted taxiing after crew detected critical flap issue
Holiday plans were thrown into chaos in the early hours of today when a Thai Lion Air flight bound for Bangkok was forced to abort take-off and return to its parking bay after a technical snag triggered a mid-taxi scare at Kolkata Airport.
Flight TLM243, scheduled to whisk 130 passengers and seven crew members back to Thailand, had only just begun taxiing away from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport when the crew detected a critical issue with the aircraft’s flaps.
“Flaps in an aircraft are very important during both take-off and landing,” an airport official said.
The components help control lift and stability, and any malfunction can compromise safety.
The trouble began soon after the Airbus pushed back from parking bay 60R at 2.35am UTC (9.35am Thailand time) today, July 8.
Within minutes, the pilots alerted air traffic control, requesting an urgent return. The plane was guided back to parking stand 34, where it came to a halt at 2.43am.
“Thai Lion landed at Kolkata Airport at 1.23am UTC from Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok with 151 passengers,” said a spokesperson from the Airports Authority of India. “After taking push back, it reported a technical problem and requested return to bay. All 130 departing passengers were safely deplaned.”
No injuries were reported, but the incident left many passengers rattled and stranded in the terminal in the middle of the night. The airline moved quickly to ease tensions, announcing the flight would be cancelled for the day as a precaution.
“Safety of passengers is paramount,” an airline official said. “All guests were provided with hotel accommodation and meals while we worked to resolve the issue.”
Technical teams were dispatched to inspect the aircraft thoroughly before it could be cleared for service again.
While frustrated travellers waited for updates on rebooking, airline representatives apologised for the inconvenience. Some passengers described seeing crew members moving briskly up and down the aisle before the announcement came to return to the stand, reported MenaFN and The Bangladesh Monitor.
“I’m glad they caught the problem before take-off,” one passenger said. “But it was still frightening to hear something was wrong while we were already moving.”
The airline advised affected travellers to contact their customer service channels for rebooking assistance or refunds.
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